New Research into the Alexander Technique
2008
A recently published study shows that the Alexander Technique can have long-term benefits for people with persistent low back pain.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the universities of Southampton and Bristol. They recruited 579 patients with recurrent or chronic low back pain and randomly assigned them to :-
| normal care, six massage sessions, six Alexander Technique lessons or 24 Alexander Technique lessons. |
The researchers were particularly interested in to what extent these interventions impacted on disability and days in pain at three months and one year after the participants started the research programme. Participants were asked if they had difficulties with certain activities as a result of their back pain and the average number of days in pain per month.
At three months participants in all the intervention groups (ie the exercise, massage and Alexander Technique groups) showed significantly more improvement than participants in the control group who received normal care. This is a not an uncommon finding in back pain research; doing something on top of doing what you would have done anyway gives you more benefit.
Fortunately, the results at one year show a clear distinction between the groups. The people who received 24 lessons in the Alexander Technique had additional improvement in their level of disability at one year and those who received six lessons maintained the benefits they gained at three months. Those who received massage, however, no longer experienced the benefits they had gained at three months and their levels of disability returned to the levels they had before the start of the research project.
Furthermore, those who also received exercise had more improvement than those who did not. The researchers concluded that 24 lessons in the Alexander Technique gave most improvement. People, who received only six lessons but also received exercise, did almost as well as those who received 24 lessons. Massage gave only short-term benefits.
This was a very well conducted and large study that comes up with some interesting recommendations on how chronic low back pain can be treated. For the first time, there is now good evidence that supports the use of the Alexander Technique. If you are interested in trying the Alexander Technique, you can search for a BackCare professional member on our website www.backcare.org.uk or visit the website of the Society for Teachers of the Alexander Technique www.stat.org.uk
The Alexander Technique is about learning lifelong skills for self-care that help people recognise, understand, and avoid poor habits affecting postural tone and muscle coordination and that cause or aggravate their pain. It is a thoughtful discipline, essentially practical and problemsolving, tailored to people’s individual needs and abilities, applied to daily activities such as sitting, standing, walking, bending and lifting. Teachers use gentle hands-on contact and verbal explanation to help people re-establish the natural coordination of the head and spine that allows the spine to lengthen and strengthen to facilitate normal postural muscle tone and bring relief from pain.